Left Behind
by emmacrade24
Summary: There were reasons why Hatake Kakashi kept his heart closed off to others. And when someone is able to wriggle their way into his heart he can't help but fall in love. But Kakashi always get left behind in the end. OC x teenage Kakashi...please read and leave reviews!


**Please leave reviews with comments or concerns or whatever! If something needs to be corrected or you have suggestions feel free to tell me! Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

Kakashi legs finally gave out as he crashed unceremoniously onto the muddy grass. He physically, mentally, and emotionally couldn't handle it anymore. He clutched his chest frantically; it felt as if his heart was being shredded into millions of pieces and for once he wasn't over exaggerating. The pain was so intense that he was sure that his chest would explode at any moment. The rain was coming down so hard at this point the only indicator that tears were streaming down his face relentlessly was the stinging in his eyes that came with it. His chest heaved with each sob and he hugged himself tightly in futile attempts to keep himself together.

They always left him eventually; he was always the one to get left behind. They never stayed for long. And usually it was his fault. Why did he let himself believe this time would be any different? He should have never fooled himself in thinking otherwise. He was so naïve. First his mother, then his father, Obito, Rin, his mentor, and now her.

It was in that moment of true desperation and complete self-despair that Kakashi swore he would never open his heart to anyone again. This was a man defeated.

* * *

**-1 year earlier-**

Why was it that they always sent Kakashi on these stupid retrieval missions? They would send the silver haired nin to get scrolls, weaponry, and on the annoying missions like this one, he would have to rescue the damsel in distress. Normally for a mission like this one they wouldn't bother the ANBU with something as trivial, expect it wasn't as easy as it was portrayed to be. This damsel wasn't some Lord's daughter who was captured for ransom or anything like that. She was an Amhara, one of the last descendants of her clan. They had a blood limit that has long been coveted, much like the Hyuuga and Uchiha's. The Amhara's were skilled in acute chakra fluctuation; they were like nature's purification filter. Chakra would automatically pore into their bodies and would then be released more potent this gives them the ability to have control over some of the elements in nature without weaving any signs. This gift was highly targeted during the First Shinobi War which nearly wiped them out. And now the last known heir to the Amhara name was in the hands of a seventeen year old Hatake Kakashi.

The mission details were quite simple, eliminate the thugs who had taken the Amhara id necessary and bring the girl safely back to Konoha. The Amhara's weren't technically Konoha citizens, but they were under the protection of the village, much to other Land's dismay. It was a big controversy back in the day of who 'owned' the Amhara Clan.

It hadn't taken the Copy-Nin long to track the girl. It was all too easy for his sharp eye to pick up on the flow of chakra that was slowly and constantly moving in one direction. Chakra isn't usually being pulled in any one direction so it was a given that he close to his target who was literally a chakra magnet. The information they had been given by locals was correct for once, they were told that a few rogue ninja were camped a few kilometers outside of the little village in an abandoned underground facility. And they were exactly where he was told they would be.

It was all too easy to sneak into the facility without notice. Whoever these rogue shinobi were they were strong enough to capture the Amhara, but ignorant enough to leave her alone in her cell, unguarded. Their hubris was uncanny.

Kakashi picked the lock on the door and quickly removed the seal. Inside there was a young girl, probably a year or two his junior, chained to wall, slumped against the floor. There was a chakra represent seal on her forehead, the probable reason for why the kidnappers didn't feel the need to keep an eye on her. Without her chakra, she couldn't bust out on her own.

She looked like hell. Her long pale blonde hair that was pooled around her head and shoulders was matted with dirt and there was nasty gash along her side that had dried; no doubt from the power struggle she and the rogues had wen hey captured her. And her complexion was unhealthily pale. Other than that her only other obvious injuries seemed strictly superficial. The Amhara was a small girl, short and lithe framed, so Kakashi tried his best to be gentle when he lifted from the ground after he unchained her in fear of breaking her further.

And then he snuck back out without ever encountering the kidnappers. He had successful avoided any contact with them; Kakashi hated killing people even if they truly deserved it and would find every opportunity not to do so. He had seen too much death in his life already; there was no need to add anymore names to the list. An odd mentality for a member of the ANBU Black Ops to have.

So Kakashi left the underground encampment with the young Amhara safely tucked in his arms without any problems or bumps in the road. And sometimes it was just that easy. At least it usually was for Hatake Kakashi.

* * *

When the silver haired ANBU returned to the village a flock of medics rushed him and swiftly carried the blonde girl away to the hospital. That was supposed to be the end of it, but when Kakashi came to give his report the Hokage thought it seemed fit for Kakashi to idly sit and watch over the Amhara while she recovered. So the ANBU nin went back to his apartment to unpack and change out of his uniform before begrudgingly trailing over to the hospital.

One of the nurses at the admin desk escorted him to the Amhara's room. The medics had removed the seal on the girl's forehead, which had been stifling the flow of charka. In normal people this seal would only have the side effects of disallowing the person to be able to use chakra, but in an Amhara's case, whose body relies on the constant ebb and flow of chakra, could result in a multi organ shut down if the problem isn't dealt with in time. That's why she looked so terrible despite her lack of major injury and why she was so completely out of it for so long.

"She looks a lot better than she did, don't you think?" A cheery brunette nurse said happily as she walked in a couple hours after Kakashi arrived and did a routine check on the Amhara. Kakashi, who was lounging in a chair in the corner reading, gave his signature eye crinkle and nodded.

"Yes, she does." The young nurse smiled good naturedly, setting a chart back down on the counter. And the blonde did look better, there was much more color in her cheeks and she looked a lot less lifeless than previously. Kakashi couldn't see her face all too well from where he was, the girl was facing the other wall but he could see enough to know she was had a healthier look about her.

"She sure is a pretty little thing. I wish I had nice thick, long hair like that." The brunette commented petting her own shoulder length hair. The way she said it though was without a hint of remorse or jealousy, it was just a simple comment. Kakashi glanced subtly at her ID, 'Satari Anyi' it read. He thought Anyi had nice hair sure the color was pretty muted but it was a good color on her. It must be a woman thing to judge their appearance so harshly. When the silver haired nin didn't respond the nurse continued on conversationally.

"You know the Hokage brings her flowers every morning, such a nice man." Of course Kakashi knew, he had been by the girl's side since she arrived here a couple days ago, but he just smiled at Anyi anyway. She was a kind woman with an amiable personality so he didn't mind her obvious statements.

"I don't she's quite a rose girl though, maybe chrysanthemums? I don't know what do you think?" Kakashi just crinkled his eye and shrugged his shoulders.

"No idea." Anyi chuckled and after checking the Amhara's vital signs one last time, the nurse bid Kakashi 'goodnight' and left the room. Kakashi sighed contently at finally being left to himself and kicked his feet up on the edge of the hospital bed. Being left to his own device, he soon drifted to sleep for a well-deserved power nap.

* * *

"Hey, wake up!" A hoarse voice called out quietly. Kakashi stirred slightly as he felt the bed shift.

"Hellooo?" The voice persisted. The Copy-Nin cracked his good eye open and peered over at the source of the noise. The blonde haired Amhara was sitting up in the bed carefully watching him with piercing green eyes, and a curious expression on her face.

"Uh, hi." Kakashi replied groggily, stretching his arms and taking his feet off the bed, forcing him into a sitting position. It was late into the night, he could tell by the lack of sunlight in the window.

"Is this the Hidden Leaf?" She inquired, her voice ragged from lack of use. The girl was staring at the headband that covered his Sharingan. He nodded tiredly, trying to blink away sleep; it felt like he had just fallen asleep. He hadn't even made it to the Rem cycle yet.

"How long have I been here?"

"Couple days." Kakashi mumbled. The girl's eyebrows furrowed with thought and she turned her gaze away from the silver haired man to the window. After a few moments of silence the blonde, who hair seemed to glow in the pale moon light, her bright expression thoughtful.

"I really appreciate

the Leaf's willingness to rescue me. Could you tell those responsible thank you for me, if I don't meet them I mean." Kakashi thought about telling her that he was who she was talking about but thought better. He didn't want to deal with some fan girl that would relentlessly attempt to show him her gratitude. There was already enough of those. And he was way too tired. So instead he nodded in agreement.

"I will." She gave a soft smile and carefully lowered herself back down on the bed.

"I'm sorry for waking you." Kakashi shrugged his shoulder in response.

"It's fine; you should go back to sleep. Now that you've woken up you'll probably be leaving the hospital soon." She nodded in acknowledgement of his words and snuggled deeper into the thin hospital sheets.

"I'm Soran by the way." The girl said once they had both gotten comfortable again.

"Kakashi."

* * *

Kakashi had thought that once Amhara Soran was discharged from the hospital that would be the last of it. The Hokage, however, had other ideas. Soran was the last known Amhara and the village was desperate to keep her safely tucked inside Konoha. They weren't forcibly detaining her, she had already consented to become a permanent resident here, but she would need 'protective care' from a respected ANBU member just in case someone else came looking for her. In other words he would be her glorified babysitter. He was not happy about this at all. This 'mission' would require him to constantly be aware of her every move, and he wouldn't be allowed to take on any other missions for quite some time. This put him in a very sour mood.

Kakashi was waiting outside of Soran's hospital room, waiting for her to gather her things and change clothes. She seemed to be in a chipper mood, contrasting harshly with his own. When she did come out she had swapped the light blue hospital gown for a white long sleeve v-neck, tight black capris and black ninja sandals. Her hair was now properly brushed and shimmered all the way down to her waist. The seventeen year old couldn't help but notice that this petite young woman was an attractive girl. When she smiled warmly at him as she stepped out into the hallway he was glad that only a quarter of his face was visible. He was surprised, to say the least, that this girl was what was behind all the grime and blood he had seen her in when he first saw her. It had been too dark the night before to really get a good look at her.

"So where are going?" She asked as he lead her down the hallway, facing straight ahead.

"To the apartments closest to Hyuuga compound, that's where you'll be staying." Kakashi wasn't really surprised when the Hokage had told him Soran would be living there. She was just like the Uchihas and Hyuugas, a lady of a blood limit. It was only fit for her to be living in the wealthiest district in the village.

"But I didn't bring any money with me from the Temple." Soran said, distressed with the new information. The Temple of the Sun was were the Amhara Clan has lived for generations, it was stationed in the mountainous region in the Land of Fire.

"Hokage-sama is paying for your housing; you'll be receiving an allowance as well." Her green eyes widened in shock, her disdain greatening.

"That's way too much! I shouldn't rely on your village to pay for all of that!" She cried. Kakashi just shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't too much of an inconvenience for Konoha, really it was a political gamble to get the young Amhara to pledge loyalty to the Leaf. He didn't tell her this, however, it sounded too much like a manipulation. Because most likely it was.

"We have money to spare, don't worry too much about it. If Hokage-sama didn't want to do it he wouldn't have set it up." Soran's lips turned downwards slightly in a small frown but she didn't argue further.

They walked in silence through the village; Kakashi watched in quiet amusement and slight annoyance as Soran 'ooed and awed' at every little thing. She was like a little kid on her first trip into the village.

"This place is amazing! I usually avoid big villages like this because the chakra flow is too intense, now I see what I've been missing out on!" Kakashi smirked lightly as the small teen flitted from shop to shop her long hair following behind her like a golden cape, at the rate she was they'd never make it out of the marketplace. She would stop in every little shop and examine all the nooks and crannies of them and then move on to the next one.

"Don't smaller villages have marketplaces too?" Kakashi asked with a little condescension laced in his voice. Soran glared a little at him but his dampened mood didn't stick with her for too long.

"Yes of course, but none as extravagant as this one." The ANBU hummed a response and continued walking. Their short conversation petered out as Soran tried her best to ignore Kakashi's sulking and Kakashi tried his best to ignore her in general. He was still insulted that he of all people was stuck babysitting this sixteen year old ball of energy.

Eventually Soran got bored with running around and was started walking a couple steps behind Kakashi as he led her into the nicer district of town. The apartment that Soran would be staying in was twenty times nicer than his own. The apartment space was more like suite than anything. Soran made a comment about the apartment being 'too much' and that it was 'unnecessary' for her to be staying there. Kakashi couldn't agree more but he didn't say so as he took out the keys and showed her into her new place. It had wide open rooms with cushy seating and couches, deep mahogany tables and armoires, and silk drapes and linens. A place fit for royalty or at least a lady of a clan.

The Amhara showed little interest in the expensive living condition though, a drastic change from her earlier wonderment of the village. Kakashi had figured that she would be thrilled to live in such a beautiful home and was surprised to find that she wasn't as pretentious as she seemed. Soran made her way into the fully stocked kitchen and offered to make tea. The Copy-Nin was about to politely decline her offer and give the girl a fake smile of thanks but she seemed intent of providing him with this small service so he obliged.

He took his place at the table and briefly took notice of the intricate carvings in the mahogany as the girl in front of him fished around in her new kitchen for a kettle. Before long the room was impregnated with the intoxicating smell of sweet jasmine tea and the blonde had even taken the extra step to bake some small lemon tarts. He wasn't too surprised that she was able to bake; it was a desired trait for women to have when in the upper class it was practically expected. Soran started up some small talk while she diligently worked, discussing the weather of all things. She was just trying to fill the awkward void of silence that Kakashi had purposely set in place. He didn't want to be there, not that he thought ill of Soran-san, but he was still childishly pouting about his predicament.

When the tea was made and the baking was finished the room had been comfortably warmed leaving the kitchen windows foggy because of the cool autumn air outside. Soran set the tray of tarts in the middle of the table and skillfully poured a cup of tea for both herself and Kakashi. He thanked her and gingerly sipped at the tea, pleasantly surprised at the quality of it.

"It's good." He commented causing a smile from the younger teen.

"I'm glad you like it." Another silent spell fell over the two. Kakashi munched on the lemon tart absentmindedly as slowly but surely eating sweets, drinking the warm tea, and sitting with this happy little blonde did put him in a better mood. He was tired of being annoyed with situation and decided to be content with an easy mission. Maybe a break from constant violence would do him some good. And maybe he could let himself enjoy little comforts like tarts and tea. And following around this pretty little lady who made him those things was a plus, Kakashi was a male teenage after all and no one could blame him for finding the joy in _having_ to watch over her. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Maybe.

**I hope you all enjoyed it remember to leave reviews! Thanks for reading!**


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